Explanation: Orion always comes up sideways ... and was caught in the
act earlier this month by over a snowy landscape in
Donegal,
Ireland.
To compose this serene picture, the photographer found a
picturesque setting to the east, waited until after sunset, and then momentarily lit the foreground with a flashlight.
The three bright stars in
Orion's belt stand in a
nearly vertical line above the snow covered road at the bottom.
Hanging from his belt, the stars and
nebulae of the
Hunter's sword are visible lower and to the right.
Yellow-orange Betelgeuse is the brightest star on the image left.
As winter progresses in Earth's northern hemisphere,
Orion
will rise earlier and so appear continually higher in the sky at sunset.